North By Northwest Berliner Weisse

Brewed by North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery
Style: Berliner Weisse
Austin, Texas USA

GABF Saturday. Wow, this one made me stand up and applaud! Bold, crisp lactic acid and funk on the nose. Flavor is an incredibly tasty blend of wheat, tartness, funk, and soft fruit. Finish is champagne dry, with lively effervescence. A very successful Berlinger in my book.

(Draught) Pours a hazy yellow body with a small white head. Aroma of wheat, light lemon, burnt plastic, and overheated electronics. Flavor of lemon, wheat, light funkiness, and grain.

GABF 2009. Pours a hazy pale straw color with a small white head. Aroma is slightly tart with wheat, yeast, and lemon. Flavor is somewhat similar to the aroma, with a mild lemony tartness and a little pale malt and grain. Palate is fairly light and mildly acidic. Good for the style but not great.

GABF 2009: Pale straw-yellow color, thin white head. The nose was wheaty with a touch of lemon, but it doesn’t smell like there’s going to be enough acidity.. It ends up being somewhat acidic in the mouth and grainy, but the mouthfeel seems to be on the wet side...there’s nice lemon flavors and a grainy background...and I don’t think its a bad rendition per se, but it didn’t get me excited either.

Tap at the brewpub. Very light yellow in color, with really no head to speak of - wonder if an unclean glass caused that, or if the beer just lacks head formation and retention. Light sourness on the aroma and a little bit of funk, though it’s not very strong. The sourness that comes through in the flavor is, honestly, somewhat one-dimensional, but still pleasant and not overpowering. There isn’t a whole lot else going on in the flavor, though. Effervescent carbonation. It’s not a bad beer, though I was disappointed with the lack of head. I also can see from this why the woodruff or raspberry syrup would be desirable - a sweeter flavor would play off the simple sourness pretty well.